As Long As You Want Me Here
by Kurissyma san Tybalt
Summary: Lovely fluffy Royai dedicated to Yun Min for her upcoming birthday!


_AN. Fluffy, cliché little oneshot that began during a convo with my friend Sophie-chan, aka ImagingDarkRoses, and was finally finished as a birthday fic for the lovely **Yun Min-chan**. Lots of Love -Rissy_

**As Long As You Want Me Here**

Searing pain… Were the effects of the antiseptic really worth this, the grief of the application? Roy paused, lifting the damp cotton pads off of his injured shoulder for a moment to ease the pain. It must be worth it, he decided miserably- Lieutenant Hawkeye had given him a full 600ml bottle of the stuff, after all. He just hoped that she didn't expect him to use all of it… Moments later, the doorbell rang and, cringing, Roy forced himself to pull his shirt –which had been hell to take off in the first place- back over his head and go to answer it, leaving the almost-full bottle of antiseptic on his nightstand- a sign of his weakness.

"Lieutenant," he said, in vague surprise as he walked into his living room to find it already occupied. Of course she had a key- she only ever rung to be polite. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Have you taken care of that wound yet, sir?" she asked briskly, getting straight to the point, as was her way.

"I was just beginning to," he replied and Riza nodded approvingly.

"At your request, I have not alerted the authorities about this most recent attempt on your life," she told him. "Similarly, I have not called for the doctor, though I would prefer if you were to see someone, sir." She paused here and when he once again declined the offer, she went on. "This I have not done, but I refuse to leave you unattended whilst the culprit remains at large. I will stay on and tend to both your wounds and your security. Such is my duty as your aide, sir. I will not fail you again."

"Fail me?" Roy repeated incredulously. "You saved my life."

The corners of Riza's lips twitched slightly but she just shook her head dismissively. "You'd better show me that wound, sir," she said, walking towards his bedroom purposefully. "I'll see what I can do for you."

-

It was a strange feeling for Roy, having Riza fuss over him. For a boy whose only family had died before he could remember, who had been orphaned and sent to work as a slave for a harsh master- who may never have gone anywhere in life if it weren't for that same man, who later became his teacher and introduced him to alchemy… It was the most affection that anyone had ever afforded him- Riza's firm and gentle ministrations.

Unbidden and without warning a soft sigh tore itself from between his dry lips, causing Riza to smile to herself, shaking her head in amusement. "If I didn't know better," she said as she massaged the stinging liquid onto his shoulder wound soothingly, "I would say that you were enjoying yourself."

"I was deep in thought," Roy corrected her, coming back to reality and cringing at the smarting in his shoulder that remained even when she drew the pads away.

"Well, that should do it," Riza said eventually as she examined the wound once again. "I'll dress it for you and then you should get some sleep."

Roy nodded obediently and allowed her to do her work. When she was done, he stood. "You do not plan to leave now that you are finished, do you?" he asked of her. "Not in this rain?"

"Not if you paid me, sir. Not even if you begged," Riza replied briskly. "I will not leave whilst you are still in danger. Please forgive me if you have made plans but they will have to be cancelled."

"No, I understand," Roy replied, the relief evident in his tone. "Please. Stay as long as you feel necessary, Lieutenant. You will always be welcome here."

A small smile formed on Riza's usually stoic face. "Thank you… But please do not feel the need to remain so formal- if you should like, I would be much obliged if you were to call me by my given name. …It's Riza, by the way."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "I hadn't forgotten," he told her. "I called you nothing else as a child, don't you remember?"

"Of course I do, but so much time has passed since then," Riza replied, blushing lightly, "And you have not called me by name since."

"Not to your face," Roy corrected her with a shrug, "But in my thoughts you are always 'Riza'."

The lieutenant laughed softly and turned to walk towards the kitchen with a light blush dancing across her cheeks, trusting him to follow. "And am I in your thoughts often, Roy?" she asked him coyly.

"Absolutely," Roy replied, without hesitation, and though her back was turned, Riza could tell that he was grinning at her.

"Perfect," said Riza, with a cheeky little smile of her own, though he couldn't see it. "Now, are you hungry? I'm starved."

"I don't know if I've got anything in there…" Roy warned as she went to open the door to the pantry.

"There'll be something," Riza assured him. "I once made a meal of two snakes, boiling water and some tea tree leaves, remember?"

"Yes," Roy agreed, checking the use-by date on an old can of baked beans and setting it back on the shelf dismally, "But we were in the middle of nowhere and hadn't seen food in three days."

"I didn't hear you complaining back then!" Riza retaliated. Then… "_Eureka_!"

-

Riza stayed with him that night… and the next, and the next after that as well. At first she slept out on the couch in the living room, but, despite her initial protests, as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, Riza was forced to accept his proposal and began sharing his bed with him. She honestly wanted to leave but she couldn't do it- not knowing that the day that she left might be the day that she lost him.

For the first time in almost as long as he'd known her, Riza Hawkeye was truly frightened.

-

Two years passed and both Riza and, now, Black Hayate, were still living with Roy. The threat of the would-be assassin had long since died down, even though the man had never been caught- it had been, after all, two whole years. Roy never once questioned her, though, -never once asked how long she planned to stay, or why she could not bear to leave. If truth be told, it was because he didn't want the answer- he didn't want her to think about it and realize that there were so many places that she would honestly rather be- he wanted to keep her near him.

"Riza?" he called, one night as he climbed into bed. "Are you coming to sleep?"

"Just a moment!" she called back and he heard the reassuring flick of all of the other light switches as she made her way toward their room. Then something unfamiliar that caused Roy to sit up in surprise. The doorbell? He glanced over at the clock- it was quarter to eleven. Precious few knew Roy Mustang's personal address and those who did knew better than to disturb him during the night. It had to be important.

Apparently Riza was thinking the same thing, because despite her usual avoidance of answering the door –the possibility of anyone finding out that she had moved in with her superior officer being reason enough- the lights down the hall were clicking back on and she was on her way to opening the door, pausing only at set of drawers in the living room wherein she had hidden a fully loaded Beretta 92 pistol- for use in case of emergency, she had said.

Roy followed her out into the hall and caught her eye as she moved toward the door. The bell was now ringing again insistently and Riza opened the door, gun arm tense by her side.

"Lieuten- AHHH!!"

Riza didn't even need to look back to figure out that Hayate was coming up behind her- this was Breda after all.

"Second Lieutenants, Sergeant Major," she directed at Havoc, Fuery and Breda snappishly, "You had better all have a good reason for coming here in the middle of the night."

"We do," Havoc assured her, a little put out, "But what's _your_ reason?"

Riza was unable to answer, the question catching her by surprise. Being so accustomed to living with Roy herself, she had somehow expected the men to just take it, but of course they would be confused. Thankfully, however, Roy seemed to be completely unfazed.

"She lives here," he told the men, a hand coming to rest on her shoulder firmly. "Now, back to why I shouldn't burn you all to a crisp for coming so late."

"She _lives_ here?!" Breda yelled.

"Oh, God! If _Hughes_ could see-!!"

"Hey!! How long has this been going on anyway?!"

Riza and Roy exchanged a bored glance and shrugged. "Two years?" said Roy eventually.

"Give or take a month or so," Riza agreed. "Two years."

"I need to sit down," said Havoc, shoving his way into the house, eyes wide. "Two years -_Two years_!- and you never thought that we might like to know?!"

"I don't think that it's really any of your business," Riza replied briskly. "Now, if you will, tell us what's so important that you had to come so late at night and then _leave us be_!"

"Two years…" murmured little Kain, smiling thoughtfully as he sat down and Black Hayate scampered into his lap. "Wow, Colonel. Congratulations."

Roy shook his head blankly. "For what?"

"Well, for finally getting it together and realising that you love her, sir!" Kain replied, as though it were oblivious.

For this, he received a sharp knock on the back of the head. "We. Are. Not. A. Couple. Sergeant."

"You really think that we're gonna believe that when she answers the door to your home in her PJs at –God, it's gotta be close to midnight by now!"

Riza sighed and also sat down, stealing Hayate from Fuery and cuddling him affectionately. "Sergeant Major…"

"Even the dog's here!"

"Sergeant Major, I may share a residence with the Colonel, but we are in no way-"

"Do you sleep with him?" asked Havoc suddenly and, not for the first time that night, the question caught Riza off-guard.

"W-what?"

"Do you sleep with him?" Havoc repeated casually.

"Well, I…" Riza trailed off, blushing lightly and Roy answered for her again.

"We share a bed, yes, but in two years nothing has ever happened between us," he explained firmly.

"Nothing at all?" asked Breda disappointedly.

"Nothing," Roy repeated.

"Aww man!!"

Sensing that they had won and that the men's "important business" was not actually that important at all, Roy took this opportunity to herd all of them out of the door and shut it behind them dismissively. He then turned back to Riza who was looking a little sad.

"What?" he said, coming to sit down beside her. "You're not upset that I told them, are you? They were surprisingly easy to get rid of, and they know that we're just friends really-"

"It's not that, sir," Riza replied, and Roy flinched at the formality in her tone.

"Then what is it?" he asked, leaning in a little closer to her and taking her hand in his gently- an attempt to establish a less formal relationship than she was obviously getting at.

"It's… Why _am_ I still here, sir?" she asked, looking up at him slowly. Her voice was firm and level but her eyes were soft and pleading. "I mean," she said, "Have you any further need of my services?" Through the formality in her words, Roy could sense her insecurities. She was scared. She didn't want him to tell her to leave, but knew that she could never refuse him if he asked it of her.

"Riza, I have great need of _you_," Roy replied warmly. "For as long as you wish to stay, you are welcome here."

Riza smiled at the warmth and sweetness of the gesture. "Thank you, sir. For… For as long as you'll have me, I should like to stay by your side. That is… that is _all_ I want."

Roy brought his arms around his subordinate gently. "I love you, Riza."

"And I, you," Riza replied softly, lifting her bright amber eyes up to meet his own. "My home is wherever you are."

Roy smiled wider at that. "One day," he said, "When I become Fuhrer, will you marry me?"

Resting her red cheek, wet with tears on her lover's shoulder, Riza nodded peacefully. "Yes, sir. I would like nothing more, sir."

"Call me 'sir' one more time and I will kiss you," Roy warned her soberly, to which Riza could only reply with a smile,

"Understood, sir!"


End file.
